Hello world! This is my very first publication here, and it is quite particular: it is originally a Shingeki no Kyojin fanfic with Fatal Frame as A.U., written in French by a very dear friend of mine – you'll find her notes right before the story for further details; and just because I did enjoyed reading it, I thought it would be a pleasant idea to share it in a more "universal" language, with – of course – the author's benediction. And here is the result.

First of all, the author and I do apologise for the possible faults, of all kinds – even if we may consider ourselves pretty good in English. I paid a quite big attention about it, and my friend did a proofreading to find and fix the fails she could find, but we cannot be to much cautious.

Anyway, we hope you'll enjoy it. Cheers!

Disclaimer: this work is the translation of a fanfic written in French by Ylinea - u/4716332/Ylinea - entitled "The Crimson Butterfly" - s/11038409/1/The-Crimson-Butterfly. I do not own the original work.

Author's notes

Hello, everyone! […] This comes from a strange dream of mine… What if we put Fatal Frame and Shingeki no Kyogin together? My sick brain was unable to shut itself down, and here comes this horror story, punctuated with some ereri. If you never played Fatal Frame (a.k.a Project Zero), just do it, it is worth the shot! I must admit that Levi is slightly O.O.C. in that particular chapter, but let's face it: it nearly is impossible to stay calm in this situation. [...]

Disclaimer: Fatal Frame/Project Zero and Shingeki no Kyogin are the properties of their respectives owners – I would never be able to make such astonishing scenarios!

Love you.

First Chapter: Lost In The Mountain

The rustling of cicadas, the summer heat, and the noise of a mountain stream. The icing on the cake? A book in my hands. This, is what I, Levi Ackerman, call summer vacations. I was stretched out on the grass, the back against a tree and facing a river, enjoying my reading.

"Hey, Levi, shall we go back home?", asked Mikasa, my twin sister. She was starring me, sat on a rock.

"Mika, could you just enjoy a bit more? It's such a quiet place to be: no teachers, no shouting brats…"

"Nor uncle Kenney too.", she said.

All of a sudden, I felt hands striking my shoulders. As I looked up, I saw Mikasa's head above mine.

"We often used to come playing here, isn't it?"

"Indeed."

"It's a shame that all of these will be vanished very soon..."

True. Our uncle said this place will be entirely filled up with water, as a brand new dam called Mizukami will be built. Some say that it has been delayed because of various troubles. Of course, I felt quite sad when thinking about the disappearance of such a peaceful place; however I won't deny I was nearly relieved for some reasons…

I remembered… I closed my eyes and saw Mikasa again, running after me through this very forest, many years ago. Her and I weren't above the age of 8, back in thoses days… She was begging me to slow down, while I kept running. Then, I heard a shout and broken branches. When I turned back, Mikasa wasn't on the track any more. I noticed a steep slope on my right, and downwards, Mikasa, face-down. Her right leg drew an appalling angle – it truly was painful to watch. And since then, Mikasa never stopped limping, unable to recover. I swore to God I would protect her, no matter the costs.

Emerging from my daydream, I noticed Mikasa was no longer there. I looked around and saw a scarlet butterfly fluttering alongside her, as she sank into the forest.

"Mikasa, what the hell are you doing? Mika!" I called her, trying to catch her up, but she still was far in front of me. The faster I ran, the further she went. The forest darkened and became more and more denser. And then, when I came across a little rock which looked just like a gravestone, the night instantly took place. The darkness was only lightened up by an ascending moon, without any stars. I heard like a voice whispering some abstruse songs, and I saw Mikasa walking ahead, passing by a tree. At this precise moment, I swore seeing a young girl in a white kimono instead of my sister.

How on Earth is that possible? I carried on, desperately calling Mikasa. My voice resonated through the forest. Suddenly, I noticed some tiny lights… My steps were getting heavier, and my sight began to play tricks on me by "showing" me various scenes in black and white. I was about to reach Mikasa, but when my hand touched her body, she turned into the same girl with the kimono I saw earlier; her face looked like a soulless doll. I was so shocked I almost got a heart attack.

Further ahead, I saw her once again, facing a torii. I stopped beside her, I could hear her whispering:

"Sorry… If only, if only I haven't abandoned you… Please forgive me."

I quietly left her behind. Another scarlet butterfly came across my sight, and the young girl disappeared; as if she didn't have any body at all, although she could be seen… Was it? No way…

Come on, Levi! Find Mikasa, get the hell out of here and go back to uncle Kenney.

I moved forward and saw a huge rock slab right in the middle of a square. The slab was surrounded by ropes that must be used for old rites, and some kind of torches were burning at each exits. I found Mikasa behind the slab, I walked towards her.

"Mikasa." She turned around, and another bunch of butterflies flew away from behind her. They were shiny, it was a quiet surreal sight. Then Mikasa looked at me and began to talk…

"Look, Levi, there's a village down below this hill." I moved forward with Mikasa at my side, and noticed the so-called village. Considering these torches and the faint lights coming from the houses in the distance, this place looked inhabited. All we had to do is move on and ask for directions…

"Levi… Is that the very village that mum warned us about?"

I turned around and looked at her, dazed and confused. What is she talking about?

"Levi, I'm talking about the village lost in the mountain. The Minakami village."

"It doesn't matter, Mikasa. Let's seek some people to whom we can ask for directions to go back home."

"But Levi, the problem is… if this is the village of all gods, we're not gonna find anybody."

"Why? Is there ghosts, living dead? Oh come on, Mikasa… tell me you're not gonna believe these bullshits, please!"

"I don't feel like it, Levi."

"Well, then when we'll back on the road to go home, you will thank me and I want you to explain why on Earth you didn't pay attention to me when I chased you up to here!", I said, fairly annoyed.

Honestly, I was knackered to run after her, and also upset of the reigning atmosphere. I no longer wanted to hear such nonsenses about ghosts stories. So saying, I took the path leading to the village.

"Levi, I didn't heard you, I was… I saw strange things, there was a girl whispering in my hear… That was truly bizarre; and all at once, I noticed I was in front of a torii and that I crossed it."

Right, now this is really disturbing, and I think I can trust Mikasa for not telling me some poppycocks. Then I got an idea… That torii… it must be the village's entrance! To find out, and without knowing if this was a logical feeling, I did about-turn towards the torii.

"Mikasa, check this out." She came back to be. Us two were in front the same torii. When I tried to get through it, I was pushed backwards: this was exactly what I dreaded, we're trapped in that place.

"Why can't we… Levi?"

"Mikasa, don't worry. There must be a way to escape ourselves, hidden in that village. Nothing will happen to us, I got you covered."

She didn't answered as we move on to the village; along the way, Mikasa noticed something dropped on the ground. A purse…

"What's in it, Levi?"

"Newspaper clippings, and an ID card."

I read the first clipping:

"NO NEWS FROM THE TOPOGRAPHER

Since a week now, a topographer – named Franz Kefka, 26 years-old, operating on a tracking mission in the mountain for the Mizukami dam is reported missing. No track of him have been found these last days."

And, the other one:

"ALL RESEARCHES FOR THE MISSING TOPOGRAPHER ARE DROPPED

After two weeks of researches, the authorities announced that the case is closed. The alert went out thanks to the missing topographer's fiancée."

Is this possible that the man got lost around here, and never found? According to the newspaper, the case is no more than 2 years old.

"Levi, check out the ID card."

There was a woman's face on it, with brown hair and some freckles. It was written Hannah Diamant, 24 years old. Could she be the topographer's fiancée? After all, that woman came here with these newspaper clippings…

But we had to keep going. Mikasa was trying hard to follow me with her lame leg. We reached the first house. There was a large window with wood bars on it. And, suddenly trembling violently, I looked closely that window and noticed we were observed. That person was pale, with hollow eyes. While it disappeared slowly, my heart was beating fiercely in my chest.

"Levi, look!", said Mikasa.

A brown-haired woman passed by the house's door. She looked just like the one on the ID card, Hannah…

"Levi, do you think we should follow her?" From every perspective, this wasn't sensible. But as long as we didn't have any clues and that we would have to explore these houses sooner or later, the only thing to do is following the only clue which had the decency to introduce itself to us, literally. Considering that, I agreed without looking at Mikasa, behind me.

She put her hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry, Mikasa, everything's gonna be all right.", said I, putting my hand on hers.

Except… I saw Mikasa overtake me, whilst the hand on my shoulder didn't move. Too shocked to move even slightly, I only felt a chilly wind in my neck and I heard a morbid whisper:

"Are you gonna leave me behind once again?" The hand vanished.

Mikasa stared at me, before the door, unaware of what happened to me. I was convinced that I would kick the bucket.

"Levi, your hair are all bristled.", said she.

I walk to the door, speechless and trembling. I took the latch and opened the door. This is going to be rough.

But, it will be endless too, I'm afraid.

In the next chapter: Camera Obscura

Welcome to Osaka House. A lovely house, with charming guests. Where Levi should be more… bad-ass?